The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday morning it will take up a challenge to Tennessee’s 2023 ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Zany: This is good news, but it doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about the outcome of a majority Conservative court. Had this case been going before a court of non-partisan, neutral Justices, I wouldn’t be worried at all. Clarence Thomas has already said the court should look at same-sex marriage, contraception, interracial marriage, no-fault divorce, etc. The Conservatives on the court are a little extreme to say the least.
I hope I don’t depress anyone by admitting that I sometimes feel depressed if I think about the Supreme Court decisions becoming the permanent law of the land and how different the decisions would be if they were being handed down by a “normal” Supreme Court. By “normal” I’m talking about the fact that I never paid attention to the Justices making up the court. Only when Trump appointed the 3 Conservatives did I start paying attention.
Look at the recent audio that was released of Justice Samuel Alito’s wife talking about her disgust with the pride flag across the street! She said her “dream flag” is white with orange flames on the sides and the word “Vergogna” in the middle, which is the Italian word for “shame.” Even the undercover reporter was shocked! From Politico: She said it was “shocking” to hear Martha-Ann Alito say she fantasized about designing a flag featuring the word “vergogna” — the Italian word for “shame” — to fly in response to LGBTQ+ pride flags. “I definitely did not see that coming,” she said.
TENNESSEE LOOKOUT
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal asked the court to review a ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the law.
Tennessee’s law prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to minors that includes puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries.
“Tennesseans deserve the freedom to live their lives as their authentic selves without government interference, yet every day this law remains in place, it inflicts further pain and injustice on trans youth and their families,” said Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, staff attorney for the ACLU of Tennessee. “The Court has the power to protect trans youth’s right to access the healthcare they need by striking down this discriminatory law.”
Legal advocates initially sued Tennessee on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Memphis-based doctor Dr. Susan Lacy.
The Biden administration also asked the Court to review the case under federal law allowing the government to intervene in private cases alleging violations of the right to equal protection under the law.
Justices will hear United States vs. Skrmetti in the fall and a decision is expected by June or July 2025.
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The article in this post was originally published on Tennessee Lookout and parts of it are included here under a Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 4.0
